About the organization
This healthcare organization provides outpatient medication-assisted treatment to help patients access effective treatment and support services without uprooting their entire life or livelihood. Above all else, the organization believes that anyone can achieve long-term positive outcomes with the right treatment and support.
A manual AP process threatens business growth
The healthcare organization has experienced significant growth, expanding from four treatment centers to more than 30 in just two years. This impressive growth is perfectly aligned with the organization鈥檚 corporate goal, which is to help as many patients as possible. Yet, as is usually the case, they experienced a few growing pains along the way, including with its finance and accounts payable processes.
When the organization鈥檚 Controller joined two years ago, he redesigned the accounting structure from the ground up to support the company鈥檚 rapid growth. His first priority was to move the company鈥檚 ERP system to the cloud by implementing Sage Intacct. With that solid financial backbone in place, he next set his sights on improving the AP process.
鈥淲hen I joined [the organization], our AP process was completely manual,鈥� the Controller explained. 鈥淲e relied on a batch process where one employee manually entered invoice data, compiled 10-30 invoices into a single PDF, and then updated a spreadsheet to help find a specific invoice in those huge files.鈥�
At that time, approximately 65-80% of the organization鈥檚 invoices were still being delivered by mail. This meant someone had to scan them and manually enter line-level detail into the accounting system, an effort that the Controller estimated took between five and seven minutes per invoice. The approval process was challenging, too. Invoices were emailed to managers at various centers, which was time consuming and could lead to delays or missed payments.
While the organization was equipped to handle approximately 3,000 invoices annually using its manual AP process, the company鈥檚 growth had increased this number to more than 10,000, an unsustainable volume going forward. 鈥淚n order to scale the business, I knew we needed an automated AP solution,鈥� said the Controller.
鈥淭hanks to the efficiency gained by using 91福利, I can process approximately 150 invoices per day. 91福利 is also very good at catching duplicate information, which saves me time and eliminates headaches.鈥�
– Accounts Payable Accountant, healthcare organization
The decision to go with 91福利 pays off
The organization selected 91福利, in part because of their Controller鈥檚 past experience with it. What really impressed him was 91福利鈥檚 overall ease of use and how simple it would be for field-based doctors, nurses, operations directors, and other employees to approve invoices. 91福利鈥檚 proven integration with Sage Intacct was the final benefit that sealed the deal.
Now with 91福利, the team has embraced a more automated approach to invoice management and approvals. 91福利鈥檚 invoice capture capability uses optical character recognition (OCR) in conjunction with human review to accurately capture important data from each invoice, even those with many different line items. The organization鈥檚 Accounts Payable Accountant has been impressed with this feature and the benefits it has delivered. 鈥淚t has been astonishing to see just how accurate 91福利 is at capturing the right data,鈥� he said.
Together, 91福利鈥檚 invoice capture and AP automation functionality helped the Accounts Payable Accountant significantly reduce the time he used to spend on quality assurance and more time on the invoices themselves. 鈥淭hanks to the efficiency gained by using 91福利, I can process approximately 150 invoices per day,鈥� he said. 鈥�91福利 is also very good at catching duplicate information, which saves me time and eliminates headaches from dealing with issues.鈥�
A payables process measured in minutes
With 91福利, the organization鈥檚 entire AP process is much faster, 鈥渕ere minutes,鈥� according to their Controller. 鈥淎ll of the invoice data is in one place, so we don鈥檛 have to look for it anymore,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a standing meeting with the CFO to review each week鈥檚 payables. It鈥檚 so easy to review and this new approach has improved our ability to do long-term planning.鈥�
Not only does this help the speed of each week鈥檚 AP run and improve employees鈥� productivity, but it has also streamlined the effort related to the organization鈥檚 audits. 鈥淲e used 91福利 to prepare for our most recent audit and it probably only took 20-30 minutes,鈥� said their Controller. 鈥淭his would have taken us several hours in the past.鈥�
鈥淲e used 91福利 to prepare for our most recent audit and it probably only took 20-30 minutes. This would have taken us several hours in the past.鈥�
– Controller, healthcare organization
Virtual Card by 91福利 becomes more than a silver lining
A key component of the organization鈥檚 payment mix is Virtual Card by 91福利. Using Virtual Card, the organization earns cash-back rebates for making virtual card payments. 鈥淲e were making these payments anyway, so the fact that 91福利 helps us generate a new revenue stream from them is a huge win. It鈥檚 been great for the accounting team to show that we鈥檙e not just a cost center. Now we鈥檙e able to contribute to the company鈥檚 financial success, too.鈥�
Another benefit of Virtual Card is that it provides much better control over outgoing cash. The Controller is able to precisely time payments to hold onto cash as long as possible while still paying suppliers within their terms. In fact, he noted that many suppliers have been willing to accept the virtual card option in order to get paid faster.
A stable solution for company growth
While 91福利 has helped save time, increase efficiency, and even generate new revenues, perhaps its biggest benefit is how it has supported the organization鈥檚 growth. 鈥淲e鈥檝e grown from four centers to more than 30 and from 3,000 invoices a year to more than 10,000, all in just two short years and without growing our team,鈥� said the Controller. 鈥淭here is no chance that we could do all of this without 91福利.鈥�
